Owned and operated by Alana Bunbury Walton, Jaws Zero Waste store aims to reduce plastic pollution as a one-stop shop for refills and raw materials for haircare, skincare, and house cleaning agents.
A sustainable, health, wellness, and refill woman-owned business, Jars Zero Waste is focused on making available to Guyanese products and services with zero plastics.
Walton, 43, opened the business in October 2020, with the aim of providing customers with alternatives to single-use plastic products. Seeing the disposal of plastic waste in drains and on the seawall she wanted to give the Guyanese populace another option.
She said, “Zero waste products are usually more expensive, however the safety and longevity are great.”
Currently her store offers refills on oil and dry goods like rice, flour, and detergent. It also provides products not packaged in plastic, and has morphed into a kind of self-care store. “Not just refills, [a] one-stop-shop, for raw materials for natural products, body butter, get it in any quantity, essentials oil for natural skincare and hair products and other raw materials,” Walton said. Additionally, it offers natural peanut butter, which, she said, is quite healthy. It is also a distributor of Tidy Up Detergents, which are locally made by a woman.
Walton explained that initially, she was a bit nervous about opening the store since the zero waste concept is new to Guyana. However, it is widely known in other countries, and her store has seen success with the influx of foreigners who visit looking for products. Touching on the investment, Walton pointed out that it came solely from her savings as she opted not to use any financial institutions. She noted that the process to start a new business is lengthy but starting one during Covid made things even more strenuous as with the protocols in place there were a few challenges.
One of the challenges she faces is importing products as “shipping costs have increased…,” she said, adding that the cost of products has also gone up, as with taxes and duties prices change. “I am finding it hard to raise prices,” she admitted, “sometimes I end up facing the brunt of the price increase.”
However, Walton is committed to educating people on their environmental footprint and believes that inclusivity and diversity in the business world are important.
“The simple act of taking a reusable shopping bag that’s a step, rather than relying on someone selling plastics which end up in our waterways. Another simple act would be to take a water bottle with you instead of buying plastic bottles on the road; it means everyone taking one step toward reducing the plastic we use,” she said.
Meanwhile, in addition to owning her own business, Walton has also been working in the private sector for over 17 years and is a mother of two children aged 16 and 11 years old.
With her do-it-all mentality, she said, time management is very important in her daily life. “I try not to give myself too much screen time. I usually have a plan every day on what I want to achieve and what I have to do and I usually stick to that,” she said.
But with the tremendous support she receives from family and friends Walton feels that she can accomplish anything. She said that her children usually go to the store and assist in “packing away stuff when staff has the day off.”
She then joked that she does not have a day off but that whenever she can she tries to have some “me time” which is usually her not leaving home and tending to her garden.
However, she stressed that she has learned to consider work-life balance important and has made “yoga and exercise a part of my daily routine. I love nature and plants are my obsession… I have so many, that it’s getting ridiculous now.”
According to her, she grew up knowing that she wanted to own a business as she had examples from her father, who was self-employed, and uncles. “I’m the kind of person that doesn’t want to do something anyone else is doing. If you’re getting into a business it must be bringing something new to the market and solving a problem… Prior to Jar Zero Waste, I was doing detergent refills and doing research and I realized in the more developed communities zero waste stores existed for more than detergent and I just took the leap,” she said.
Outlining a five-year plan for her business, she stated that she wants to work on making more natural and healthy foods available: fresh plant based milk, almond and cashew butter as well as working on a website to sell online. “I want to serve more of the commercial industries, bed and breakfasts and the air b and b, refill detergents, laundromats, we want those businesses to know about us,” she said.
Additionally, she hopes that her business can go national as she envisions “our products in the supermarket, looking into eco-friendly products in the supermarket.”
She urged others to “take the leap” stressing, “I took the leap, buying products bit by bit and here we are today. A lot of times we are afraid of the risk. Do your research, think about what problem you are solving and not what’s trending, and just go from there.”
Meanwhile, she also benefited from the Cherie Blair Foundation, which works with Action Invest to train women in business. Before participating in that programme, she said, she faced challenges in running her business with little structure and direction. However, through the programme she learned about market segmentation, refining her product line, and gained a better understanding of how to target her consumers with marketing strategies.
